Connect with us

Politics

Chicago University Issues Certificate With Invalid Graduation Date, Signature, Logo, Others, Tinubu Fumes, Blames Clerk

Tinubu’s statement was filed on August 23 by his counsel as part of his argument before the United States District Court
.

Published

on

AtikuTinubu
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has implicated a clerk at Chicago State University as responsible for blatant irregularities that characterised a certificate the school reprinted in his name, according to new court filings made available by Peoples Gazette.

The Nigerian president said the unnamed clerk “unfortunately” made the errors as to the dates the school stated on his recently-issued certificate and when he actually graduated, thereby creating “the appearance of differences.”

VerseNews reports that Tinubu’s statement was filed on August 23 by his counsel as part of his argument before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

Judge Jeffrey Gilbert had given the Nigerian politician until August 23 to explain why his academic records at CSU should not be released to his political opponent Atiku Abubakar.

Advertisement

Abubakar, earlier this month, requested court approval to subpoena Mr Tinubu’s files domiciled with CSU because he believed the documents would clarify glaring inconsistencies in Mr Tinubu’s background, including publicly-available documents that suggested the CSU in the 1970s admitted a female student bearing Bola Tinubu who was born on March 29, 1954. 

The Nigerian president said he was born on March 29, 1952, although he had also, at different times, listed 1954 as his birth year in the past. He also recently expunged his primary and secondary education from his records after it was discovered that the schools he listed under oath in his 1999 run for Lagos governor did not exist anywhere in Nigeria.

Abubakar believed the requested records would show which early and high papers Mr Tinubu submitted to CSU before he was admitted to study accounting there.

Abubakar had sued to obtain Tinubu’s school records under a U.S. statute that allows documents available in the U.S. to be subpoenaed for use as evidence in a foreign court. 

Advertisement

Abubakar argued that Tinubu had presented contradictory claims in Nigeria and the CSU, in responding to a previous subpoena, had issued documents that contradicted what Tinubu had entered under oath in Nigeria. 

Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, argued that the August 2022 subpoena that was issued following a request by a Nigerian lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah was “illegal” because he had no valid grounds to seek the documents, especially under education privacy rights.

The lawyers, nonetheless, admitted the documents indeed emanated from the CSU, but an unnamed clerk had mistakenly typed the graduation date. 

“Unfortunately, in responding to the illegal and invalid subpoena, CSU made several errors,” Mr Tinubu’s attorneys said. “CSU issued a new diploma for Bola A. Tinubu, but incorrectly wrote the date of graduation as June 27, 1979.”

Advertisement

The lawyers also said changes in school-authorised signatories and logos, alongside other anomalies like the fonts of the certificate, all combined to generate an appearance of wrongdoing.

“The correct date was June 22, 1979, but that scrivener’s error – along with a change in the CSU logo, the font on the diploma, and leadership at CSU who signed the diploma created the appearance of differences between an earlier issued diploma and the one issued in response to the 2022 subpoena,” the lawyers said.

Abubakar said he filed the suit because he wanted to get the school to certify all documents relating to Tinubu, some of which had been filed by the Nigerian president’s lawyers in Nigerian court as part of the ongoing election petitions proceeding. 

But Tinubu argued further that Abubakar should be requesting the documents because Tinubu’s academic records were not part of the initial litigation over the Nigerian elections. They said the opposition leader’s argument had been focused entirely on cheating and other irregularities around the conduct of the election. 

Advertisement

They also argued that the Nigerian court hearing the election petitions had already concluded hearing on arguments, and a judgment is now being anticipated. The court is expected to deliver judgment on or before September 21, in line with the Nigerian electoral law that mandates the conclusion of a petition within 180 days after the election. The presidential election was held on February 25, and Tinubu was sworn in as president on May 29. 

 Tinubu’s argument appeared to mirror the position of the CSU authorities on the lawsuit, and the school had said it would defer compliance decision to its former student on the matter. 

Abubakar’s legal team, led by Chicago-based attorney Angela Marie Liu, is expected to file a response to  Tinubu’s argument that the documents should not be sought because they were not part of the Nigerian proceeding and would be inadmissible due to the current stage of the case. 

Advertisement

Stay ahead with VerseNews. Get the latest breaking news, insightful analysis, and trending stories. Your go-to source for timely updates and unbiased reporting.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WATCH: Nigeria Newspaper Headline Today

Apply For Latest Job Openings

Trending

minimum age minimum age
Education54 minutes ago

BREAKING: FG Sets New Minimum Age for University Admission

The Federal Government warned that any attempt by institutions to manipulate or falsify age records...

nigerian banks nigerian banks
Business1 hour ago

BREAKING: Nigerian Banks to Report Accounts With ₦5m Monthly Transactions

Nigerian Banks will now report or flag any personal or business account that processes a total of ₦5 million or...

muslims muslims
Lifestyle2 hours ago

Why Muslims Bury Their Dead Within 24 Hours

Why Do Muslims Bury Their Dead So Quickly? Understanding the Faith and Tradition Behind Immediate Burial

jamb candidates jamb candidates
Education2 hours ago

FULL LIST: JAMB Announces Top 10 2025 UTME Scorers

JAMB announces the top 10 candidates, along with their gender, state of origin, institution of choice, and course of choice

Nigerian International Passport Nigerian International Passport
News2 hours ago

FG Launches Special Passport Office for Senior Public Officials

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the newly launched facility was established to address the challenges public officials.

jamb cut of mark jamb cut of mark
Education17 hours ago

JAMB Sets 2025/2026 Admission Cut-Off Marks for Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges

The cut-off marks were approved during the 2025 JAMB Policy Meeting held in Abuja, which brought together key stakeholders.

asuu trike asuu trike
Education24 hours ago

BREAKING: ASUU Declares Nationwide Strike

Already, ASUU branches at the University of Jos and the University of Abuja have commenced the strike action in compliance...

Double Taxation Agreement talks Double Taxation Agreement talks
Business1 day ago

Netherlands Begins Double Taxation Agreement Talks with Nigeria

The talks mark a significant step in Nigeria’s evolving international tax diplomacy and its effort to align with global fiscal...

David Mark Rauf Aregbesola ADC David Mark Rauf Aregbesola ADC
News1 day ago

Coalition: David Mark, Other ADC Interim Leaders Dragged to Court – DETAILLS

The lawsuit threatens the fragile unity of the opposition coalition, reportedly being driven by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar,

enugu airr enugu airr
News1 day ago

Enugu Air Officially Launches Domestic Flight Services Across Nigeria [PHOTOS]

Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, who commissioned the airline, assured that the federal government will fully support the success of...

Advertisement